“Oh no, it’s broken!” – How product functionality limits lifespan

  • Today a large variety of products with various features and designs are available for consumers. In addition to the main functions of a product, there are more and more additional functions, especially for electrical and electronic appliances. This means that looking for the right product may require extensive research by consumers and does not always lead to a sense of making an informed purchase decision. The wide variety of designs and functions can overwhelm consumers. This creates uncertainty and might lead to overrate products functionality and thus significantly shorten the service lifetime of appliances. Furthermore, the environmental impact of such functions is usually unclear, and can vary depending on the actual usage scenario. In this study, a survey was carried out in order to better understand consumers perceptions and experiences related to additional functions of products, with specific focus on domestic hobs, household refrigerating appliances and televisions. TheToday a large variety of products with various features and designs are available for consumers. In addition to the main functions of a product, there are more and more additional functions, especially for electrical and electronic appliances. This means that looking for the right product may require extensive research by consumers and does not always lead to a sense of making an informed purchase decision. The wide variety of designs and functions can overwhelm consumers. This creates uncertainty and might lead to overrate products functionality and thus significantly shorten the service lifetime of appliances. Furthermore, the environmental impact of such functions is usually unclear, and can vary depending on the actual usage scenario. In this study, a survey was carried out in order to better understand consumers perceptions and experiences related to additional functions of products, with specific focus on domestic hobs, household refrigerating appliances and televisions. The results confirm the large number of additional functions and their overwhelming effect for consumers. Consumers purchase devices with more features than desired, or replaced them prematurely because an extra feature fails while the main function is still available. The findings of the study can be used to better inform consumers and support them to make environmentally sustainable purchasing decisions.zeige mehrzeige weniger

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Autor*innen:Jana Rückschloss, Christoph Tochtrop, Justus von Geibler, Moritz-Caspar SchlegelORCiD
Dokumenttyp:Beitrag zu einem Tagungsband
Veröffentlichungsform:Verlagsliteratur
Sprache:Englisch
Titel des übergeordneten Werkes (Englisch):PLATE 2025 - Proceedings of the 6th Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference
Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung:2025
Organisationseinheit der BAM:S Qualitätsinfrastruktur
S Qualitätsinfrastruktur / S.3 Ökodesign und Energieverbrauchskennzeichnung
Herausgeber (Institution):Aalborg University
Erste Seite:666
Letzte Seite:674
DDC-Klassifikation:Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften / Sanitär- und Kommunaltechnik; Umwelttechnik
Freie Schlagwörter:Circular economy; Durability; Ecodesign; Functionality; Purchase decision
Themenfelder/Aktivitätsfelder der BAM:Umwelt
Umwelt / Circular Economy
Veranstaltung:6th Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference (PLATE2025)
Veranstaltungsort:Aalborg, Denmark
Beginndatum der Veranstaltung:02.07.2025
Enddatum der Veranstaltung:04.07.2025
DOI:10.54337/plate2025
URL:https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/plate2025
ISSN:2794-9540
ISBN:97887-7642-060-4
Verfügbarkeit des Dokuments:Datei im Netzwerk der BAM verfügbar ("Closed Access")
Datum der Freischaltung:30.07.2025
Referierte Publikation:Nein
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